In 1986, author Robert Fulghum became a folk hero by publishing the book “All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten.”

Fulghum wrote:

“These are the things I learned (in kindergarten):1. Share everything.2. Play fair.3. Don't hit people.4. Put things back where you found them.5. Clean up your own mess.6. Don't take things that aren't yours.7. Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody.8. Wash your hands before you eat.9. Flush.10. Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.11. Live a balanced life — learn some and drink some and draw some and paint some and sing and dance and play and work everyday some.12. Take a nap every afternoon.13. When you go out into the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands, and stick together.14. Be aware of wonder. Remember the little seed in the Styrofoam cup: The roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that.15. Goldfish and hamster and white mice and even the little seed in the Styrofoam cup — they all die. So do we.16. And then remember the Dick-and-Jane books and the first words you learned — the biggest word of all — LOOK.”

I don’t remember too much about kindergarten. But I clearly recall landing my first “real” job out of college two years before Fulghum wrote his book.

Publisher James Clifford and Managing Editor Tom Schultz hired me to be a cub reporter at the Watertown Daily Times in 1984.

I was reflecting on that job as Schultz, my first boss, was inducted into the Wisconsin Newspaper Hall of Fame in Madison this past week. Schultz has been fighting the good fight at the Watertown paper for 50 years.

He was inducted into the WNA Hall along with former Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Editor Martin Kaiser, whose illustrious tenure here preceded me.

In the spirit of Fulghum’s book, I would like to share what I learned from Clifford and Schultz in that first job in Watertown, the home of America’s first kindergarten.

1. Work hard. Boy, did we work hard.

2. Play hard. Boy, did we play hard.

3. Be on time. In fact, get there 10 minutes early if you can.

4. Get the story first. But get the story right.

5. Honestly pursue the truth.

6. Punch above your weight class. With the right attitude and a lot of hustle, you can run with the big dogs.

7. Don’t settle for “good enough” when “the best” is within reach.

8. Whenever possible, become part of the solution, not the problem.

9. Become engaged with the community you serve, the community that provides your paycheck. (In my case, that's the community that gave me my wife, Kristi.)

10. Treat your co-workers with respect and courtesy. You’re on their team.

CLOSE

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I think these universal truths can apply to any career. Congratulations and thanks to Kaiser, Schultz and Clifford, who previously was named to the Milwaukee Press Club Media Hall of Fame. You each are living impactful lives of service for others.

Steve Jagler is the business editor of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. C-Level stands for high-ranking executives, typically those with “chief” in their titles. Send C-Level column ideas to him at steve.jagler@journalsentinel.com.